After 10 years in its original space, radical bookstore Burning Books in Buffalo, N.Y., is expanding, Buffalo Rising reported. Co-owner Leslie James Pickering and the Buffalo Rising team have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the expansion, which will see the bookstore take over the building next door.
Burning Books will grow from 628 square feet to 2,378 square feet and the additional footage will allow the bookstore to more than double the size of its inventory and build a dedicated event space. The Burning Books team hopes to use this space for readings as well as book club meetings, collaborations with activists and other community gatherings. The new space will have an accessible entrance and restrooms.
The store carries books for children, teens and adults with a heavy focus on social justice issues. While the inventory covers a range of political and social issues, the store's approach is "largely intersectional and we believe in the interconnectedness of movements, tactics and history." The store also stocks posters, games and other gifts, with social justice and sustainability in mind.
So far, the Burning Books campaign has raised just over $7,000.